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Kevin Rampe, Interim President for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) Opened the Meeting by Welcoming the Advisory Council Members in Attendance

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Kevin Rampe, Interim President for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) Opened the Meeting by Welcoming the Advisory Council Members in Attendance LMDC ALL ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING ON THE STUDIO DANIEL LIBESKIND’S PLAN THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2003 5:30-8:30PM HELD AT THE OFFICES OF THE PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY TH 111 EAST 18 STREET, NEW YORK, NY Kevin Rampe, Interim President for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) opened the meeting by welcoming the Advisory Council members in attendance. He explained that the LMDC and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) are going to jointly retain Daniel Libeskind as the master design architect for the overall rebuilding of the World Trade Center site. Mr. Rampe introduced Alex Garvin, Vice President for Planning, Design and Development for the LMDC. Mr. Garvin went on to say that when the LMDC launched the Innovative Design Study process, New York New Visions supplied the LMDC with a list of names of architects they should contact to participate in the competition, and Daniel Libeskind was one of them. Mr. Garvin called Nina Libeskind, Daniel Libeskind’s wife, and they agreed to submit a proposal. Mr. Garvin was happy to say that Mr. Libeskind became one of the semi-finalists, and he is finally here at the end of the process with a magnificent site plan. Mr. Garvin then introduced Mr. Libeskind. Mr. Libeskind thanked all the attendees for their interest in his plan and for the chance to be involved in this spectacular process, to rebuild Ground Zero. He mentioned that the process is an exemplary democratic process because it involves citizens from all walks of life. It involves conversations, thousands of e-mails and public meetings. He said he never seen anything like this in his life. Mr. Libeskind continued, saying the planning process is very inspiring because he has the opportunity to say that his clients are the millions of New Yorkers, the millions of people who care about the World Trade Center site and who live downtown. He is conducting this process for all the Americans that come to downtown New York and for people from all over the world. The reason Mr. Libeskind called his plan Memory Foundations is because it is about eternal memory. People should never forget what happened on September 11, 2001. It has to be inspiring for people who were not witness to this event. Mr. Libeskind added that he came to the United States as an immigrant. He lived in the Bronx, and he thinks that New York is the most innovative, creative and imaginative city there is. He thinks that the soul of the city will be captured in the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site. And that is the reason for this meeting, to listen to the community and to respond to their ideas. Mr. Libeskind then showed a PowerPoint presentation of Memory Foundations to all the participants, elaborating on each different aspect and phasing of his plan. The footprints of the Twin Towers will be preserved for the Memorial, which will be the result of an international memorial competition. Part of Mr. Libeskind’s memorial setting is exposing portion of the “Slurry Wall” that holds back the Hudson River from the World Trade Center site bathtub. The sky will be home again to a towering spire 1776 feet high, a number with a strong meaning of freedom. The tower would rise restoring the skyline, creating an icon that speaks of our vitality in the face of danger and our optimism in the aftermath of tragedy. Life victorious. The plan also deals with the creation of a new neighborhood, a residential response with a new connection, and a new and exciting architecture for Lower Manhattan, with cultural and civic centers, including a memorial museum, that will become the entrance into the memorial space. Opened public green spaces for the community use, including a “Piazza” to commemorate those lost lives, creating the “Park of Heroes” and the “Wedge of Light”. Each year on September 11th, between the hours of 8:46 a.m., when the first plane hit the tower and 10:28 a.m., when the second tower collapsed, the sun will shine without shadow, in perpetual tribute to altruism and courage. Tara Snow, Vice President for Government Relations and Community Affairs for the LMDC, begin the Q&A session asking the participants to raise their hands to submit their comments. One participant mentioned that he would like to see Chinatown and the Lower East Side areas included in the planning process. Another participant congratulated Mr. Libeskind for his plan. She continued, saying that one of her concerns is that Broadway will become a service alley of the new World Trade Center site due to the effect of the massing of all the office towers on Church Street. Another concern is that the market will dictate the construction of those towers, based on the need of commercial and retail space, so residents of the area will be looking at and living with vacant sites for many years. A third issue is connectivity, particularly on the southwest corner of the site. Mr. Libeskind explained that one of his major concerns is connectivity. He believes that it is important to preserve the site, to protect it and give people who are on the site a very special atmosphere. It is a sacred site and should be preserved as one. Regarding the site being vacant for a long time, one could build temporary retail. It is possible to enliven the streets, bringing back life to the area, without necessarily going through the full process of constructing all the skyscrapers. Another participant asked Mr. Libeskind to share with the public, his experience in building retail spaces and what is his vision for the retail space at the site, including street level and below grade. Continuing, the participant asked about the transportation hub and its connectivity to the neighborhood and to West Street. Mr. Libeskind commented that he agrees with the Mayor’s Vision for Lower Manhattan and that it is necessary to construct retail space at street level, because that’s where life is. At the same time, it is necessary to maximize the potential of retail for other investors who are interested in the audience that is using the underground channels. Another Advisory Council member commented that she would like to see the memorial designed together with the site planning. Now that the site plan has been chosen, she wonders if Mr. Libeskind will have consultation with the artist who wins the memorial competition, so that site planning and memorial design are unified and cohesive. Commenting that he is not participating in the memorial competition, Mr. Libeskind added that it is very important to give freedom to the contestants. He will work very closely with the artist, architects, and landscape designers, because it is necessary to create unity and harmony. Mr. Rampe added that Mr. Libeskind is already working with some of the LMDC consultants who are putting together the memorial competition in terms of defining the memorial space, and creating the guidelines. One member of the Residents Advisory Council expressed her concerns about the connectivity between the site and the Battery Park City area, asking Mr. Libeskind to explain how people will easily get from one side to the other. Mr. Rampe commented that the LMDC is exploring, in conjunction with the PANYNJ, the State DOT and the City DOT various alternatives to improve connectivity. That is an objective that was identified early on in the process. The LMDC Planning Department is working with Mr. Libeskind and all the government agencies, especially on the West Street issues, to determine the best options for connectivity in the area. One member from the Transportation and Commuters Advisory Council, continuing the connectivity issue, asked Mr. Libeskind to share his opinion about the pros and cons of the tunnel along the World Trade Center site submerging West Street, as supporters argue that is going to help traffic and connectivity with the creation of a Boulevard, and opponents are concerned it will cost a lot of money and it will create barriers at the ramps that go down to it. Mr. Libeskind mentioned that this is a very important issue that cannot be solved by an architect alone. This is a community-wide, city and state issue. From an architectural point of view, Mr. Libeskind believes that a park is needed in the area, a ground plan which gives an easy access from the Park of Heroes, from Liberty Street, from the memorial site to the Hudson River and Battery Park city. The same thing goes for the North-South bound, including the Tribeca and Battery Park connection. One member of the Families Advisory Council asked about the possibility of having a memorial in the sky as a private space for the family members to be away from the public and pay their respects in a quiet environment. Mr. Rampe answered by saying that’s something that would be under consideration as part of the memorial competition. The memorial program and the mission statement set forth a separate area for the families, whether it is in the sky, a separate area and other items will be part of the memorial competition. One participant mentioned that he was particularly interested in the degree to which Mr. Libeskind has proposed integrating cultural uses with arts centers and the museum in his plan and asked Mr. Libeskind to expand a little bit on how he sees the feasibility and sequence of actually establishing those institutions, how they will be designed, and what sort of capacity he imagines them having in general planning terms.
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